


Wrong Number Princey(Prinxiety)

by Justgenderless



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Trans!Virgil, chatfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26720581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justgenderless/pseuds/Justgenderless
Summary: Virgil gets a text from an unknown number, and despite his better judgement, responds. And boy was that the best and worst choice of his life.Chatfic(kinda) with Prinxiety
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 64
Kudos: 125





	1. who tf are you?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever post here on ao3, so please be patient with any mistakes that happen TwT  
> This is cross-posted from Wattpad, and the following info was the first chapter, but I've decided to just put it here;
> 
> Roman Juniper:Think like typical jock, but gay. Used to play sports but then discovered theater. That's his life now. Best friend is Paton. Actor. He/him, 25
> 
> Virgil Smert:Emo shit who never goes outside. Grandmother on mom's side is Russian, something he loves to joke about. Best friend is Logan Makes dumb YouTube videos. He/him, 24.
> 
> Patton Smith:Dad friend to the max. Will protect anyone and anything with his life. Has threatened to adopt Roman. Best friend is Roman. Owns a bakery. He/him, 27
> 
> Logan Ethan:Mom friend but denies it. Loves books and anything related to them. Smart gay. Best friend is Virgil. Writer, is into writing scripts now, He/him, 28.
> 
> Janus Bevin:Wine mom friend. Done with everyone's shit. Dating Remus(something they still can't believe). Works at Patton's bakery and draws online commissions. They/them, 27
> 
> Remus Juniper:Chaotic as fuck. Lives off Monster Energy Drinks. Fear his power. Dating Janus. Unemployed but jokes about working as a stripper. He/him, 27
> 
> I hope you enjoy this wack story!

Virgil was just sitting around, taking a break from editing his most recent video when his phone buzzed. Assuming it was Logan checking that he was alright he picked up his phone to answer. But instead of seeing a text from 'Nerd' he found one from an unknown number.

Now Virgil usually didn't answer anything from an unknown number. After all, who knew what was on the other side? But at the moment his mind was not functioning like normal, and so despite his better judgement, he opened the text, and typed out his answer.

Unknown:Hello there!

Virgil:Who tf are you

Unknown:We met at Mia's party last night, Roman?

Virgil:I have no clue who either of those people are

Unknown:What? Are you sure?

Virgil:Pretty sure you got the wrong number

Virgil expected it to just end there, but nooooooo. It had to go on.

Unknown:Well this is embarrassing

Unknown:What are you like?

Virgil:Excuse me?

Unknown:What are you like? Personality, looks

Virgil:Why the hell do you want to know?

Unknown:I got a number expecting to have a new friend, might as well keep with

Virgil rolled his eyes. The nerve of this guy! However, the idea of having a friendship where the other person had no clue who he really was, felt appealing. Virgil hated the idea of getting fake friends just because he made videos on the internet that had just started to gain views. It was starting to get hard to find out who really cared about him and who just wanted clout. So this, was a great idea for him.

Virgil:Well what are you like

Unknown:I do a lot of acting, it's my job after all!

Virgil:You said your name was Roman right?

Unknown:Indeed, how about you?

Virgil changed the contact name to 'Roman', promising himself he'd find a better more funny one. No one on his phone had a serious name, not even his parent.

Virgil:Just call me V

Roman:Well aren't you mysterious

Virgil:Think of it like a video game, you'll unlock it in the future

Roman:I do like a good challenge

Virgil laughed and shook his head. Telling Roman his name might reveal who he was. Since 'Virgil' wasn't a common name at all. It's not that it was a bad name, it just was easy to recognize.

Roman:Just so that I'm not misgendering when I tell my friends about the mysterious man in my texts pronouns?

Virgil:He/him. I see you are a man of not being an ass too

Roman:Of course lol

Roman:He/him for me

Virgil:Got it

Virgil broke out in a grin. It happened every time someone asked him his pronouns. It already felt like he could tell Roman about IT, though, that was still a risk. Better to be safe and careful then get cursed out and possibly threatened.

Roman:So V, what do you look like?

Virgil:That's non of your damn business

Roman:Alright than keep your secrets

Roman:That came off hostile. Ops

Virgil:Its whatever i did too

Roman:I have a feeling we're going to get along

Virgil:Same thing here jackass

Roman:Wow! We're already on loving nicknames!

Virgil:Riiiiiight

Virgil put his phone to the side and returned to editing. Who knew making friends would be this easy? All he had to do was not be some YouTuber and lose his social anxiety and he'd have plenty of friends instead of the two that he had now. In fact... This was giving him an idea.

After about another half hour of editing Virgil opened Tumblr, making a quick update post about progress on the video before logging out of his account. It was time for Operation Fake Fan Account.

A thing Virgil tended to have trouble with was interacting with fans. Anytime he would attempt to basically the entire fan-base would freak out. It used to be doable but now that he was bigger, it was a lot harder.

So, instead of exploring the fandom on his own account, Roman had gave him the idea of making an account where he could pretend to be a fan, and go undercover in the world of the internet. He had a feeling it might not end well, but it had to be done.

After about an hour of going around the internet building up a persona that would be pretty easy to uphold Virgil decided to take a break and just relax. So he opened Netflix and started scrolling through shows. After a bit he chose one and just flopped, ready to start yet another series binge. He made a quick Tweet and Tumblr post about starting to watch the show,on his account of course, and put his phone away.

The internet was put on hold for the day.

Roman looked down at his phone with a grin. He had made a new friend, and the friend had no idea who he was. Roman had started off as a pretty small actor but after being the lovable gay side character(tm) in a Netflix show, he had blown up. He had no problem with the fame, but it sometimes got bothersome to find people who didn't just like him for the acting he did.

But here was someone who had no clue he was some famous actor. He could be a whole different person when texting this strange V. It was a bit odd he refused to tell Roman his name, but that could slide. Maybe his name was just weird and he wanted it to go unnoticed.

Roman flopped onto the couch and opened twitter. His heart skipped a beat as soon as he did.

(insert tweet of Virgil tweeting out: "Just started watching some show on Netflix called Jack let Go, no spoilers from any of you")

This, was huge. Jack Let go was the show where he was the side character. The replies were full of people talking about how Virgil was going to love Freddy, Roman's character.

Anxious247 aka Virgil was probably Roman's favorite YouTuber. He had been watching him since before either had blown up. And whenever Roman needed to play a character with anxiety or even that one time he needed to play a trans character, he used Virgil as a reference.

Virgil's content was really open and honest, and it varied from a serious video talking about his transition process to a really silly one where he 'turned' one of his friends emo. Virgil was Roman's idea of a perfect famous person, honest and not afraid to show his true self. And here that person was, watching to show that was his breakthrough.

What the hell was his life?

Roman quickly started freaking out to Patton, questioning if he should reply or just let it sit? Or like should he dm Virgil and ask if he wanted to collab? Would that be ridiculous? What the hell was he supposed to do here?!

What Roman didn't know was the person he was freaking out about, was the second contact down on his phone.


	2. well fuck

Virgil was so goddamned fucked. Everything had gone completely to shit. Like what the absolute hell was happening? He opened his message app again, hoping he had just misread what the message said, but nope, it was exactly the same as before. He. Was. So. Fucked.

4 Hours Earlier

Virgil took off his headphones, playing the video through again. He had finally finished editing, and an entire two hours early! Meaning he had two hours to sit around before he released it. So, he did what any sensible person would do and continued to watch the show he had been binging.

Jack Let Go was honestly really boring. The only reason Virgil hadn't dropped it straight away was because of Teddy. Not only was Teddy funny and very likeable, he was pretty damn hot. Virgil would be completely lying if he said he watched the show for the plot, he watched it for Teddy.

After about a half hour of watching it Virgil revived a text from Roman,

Roman:Wyd?

Virgil:I'm just watching some show, you?

Roman:Finishing up a project

Virgil:Am I allowed to know what this project is?

Roman:Nope!

Virgil:And you though i was secretive

Roman:Good point

Roman:Id say we're equal

Virgil:Oml what is your grammar

Roman:Uhhh, dead. :)

Virgil burst out laughing at his friends response, turning off the TV so he could focus completely on this conversation. He was slowly growing more attached to this Roman, and even though that was a risk, Virgil didn't care at all.

Two hours passed pretty quickly, and before Virgil knew it, it was time to upload the video. He quickly tweeted out about it's release and flopped on his couch to wait for it to gain views. He let a half hour pass before opening up Twitter to check on the replies, and was beyond shocked to find the first one.

It was from Roman Juniper.

Roman. Fucking. Juniper.

The person who played the incredibly hot side character that Virgil had gushed about online, watched Virgil's videos. Roman fucking Juniper knew who he was. And in that moment Virgil felt like the entire world stopped. The really hot possibly gay dude knew he existed. What. The. Hell.

The shock faded enough for Virgil to like the reply, but he still had no clue what else to do. So like in every panic inducing moment, he texted Logan.

Virgil:SOS

Virgil:Roman fucking juniper replied to my tweet

Virgil:what the hell do i do

Nerd:First of all your grammar could use work. Second, I believe a proper thing to do would be to reply to him.

Virgil:But like how?!

Virgil:He's such a big deal and he knows i exist!

Nerd:In case you didn't notice, you too are a big deal. Perhaps you should offer up a collab chance?

Virgil:Are you kidding me? I can barely talk to him online let alone in person!

Nerd:It's something to think on. I'm sure you can figure this out, you always find a way to.

Virgil sighed and put his phone down, shoving his head into a pillow. Now usually he would make a post about this, but Roman Juniper probably followed him. He should probably check that. But that seemed like it would bring more panic. So, Virgil went to his other coping strategy, recording a video.

Virgil's videos had started off pretty silly and weird. He had started making them when he had started high-school, and was still called Vera. But then the grand gender crisis happened. He chopped off his hair and started going by Virgil. It was around that time his videos became a coping mechanism. A lot of the videos from that time period were pretty dark, and a lot Virgil made private.

But now the videos were a lot lighter and closer to what they had used to be. They still held the ability to calm Virgil down, but he had found a healthy balance. Well, as healthy as it was going to be. This job involved a lot of stress and worry, but it meant Virgil was doing things he loved, and helping people out there who are going through what he went through, and that's what he wanted to do.

After recording footage that would probably never see the light of day, Virgil checked his phone, seeing a text from roman.

Roman:Hey I have a feeling you'll like this! (link to Virgil's video cause like wtf I can't link a normal one)

Virgil was so goddamned fucked. Everything had gone completely to shit. Like what the absolute hell was happening? He opened his message app again, hoping he had just misread what the message said, but nope, it was exactly the same as before. He. Was. So. Fucked.

Roman knew who he was. Well, Roman already knew him but he knew about Anxious247. That, was really really bad. How long had he been watching him?! Had Roman been there for the dark days? How much did this man know about him without really about him without really knowing it was him?

what the hell was Virgil's life anymore.

Roman re-watched the video for the second time, smiling. He had a feeling V would like Virgil. Not only did their names start with the same letter-

Wait.

With that thought, a crazy idea popped into Roman's head. Was there a chance V was Virgil?! The likelihood was really small, but still there. And getting more and more believable the more Roman thought about it.

V could be Virgil, and Roman was determined to find out.


	3. oH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Timeskips(a lot), Depression, Virgil being really fucking gay, Logan has to make Virgil take his meds. As always PLEASE tell me if I missed something. I really don't want to trigger anyone.

TW:Depression, Virgil being really fucking gay. As always PLEASE tell me if I missed something. I really don't want to trigger anyone.

Virgil didn't sleep that night. He also never responded to roman. HE felt awful about it, but how was he supposed to respond? If he lied then Roman might find out, but if he told the truth Roman might freak out. And on top of that there were the worries about the other Roman, Roman Juniper. Or, other Roman to him at least.

The next morning Virgil was barely able to drag himself out of bed. He needed to record a video, one he could actually show the internet, but his brain was barely functioning. It just didn't want to work with Virgil.

Finally Virgil worked up the courage to pick up his phone, and boy was he surprised when he did.

Last Night

Roman hadn't slept much either. He was up late trying to figure out this Virgil=V theory. He had no clue how to ask V about it, and instead spent hours trying to connect dots. He even went to the length of calling Patton to help, which ended up with a command to go to sleep because it was 3am.

Finally, Roman gave up. There was only one way to figure out if his theory was true, and it might not even work. But in that moment, Roman saw it as the only way.

Roman:Hey, do you know roman juniper?

No response for ten minutes.

Roman:I'm him it might sound crazy but im roman juniper

Roman threw his phone across the room and flopped onto his bed, burying his face deep into the pillows. After much over-dramatic movements and texts to Patton, he feel fast asleep.

Current time

Virgil stared at Roman's latest text, heart rate going through the roofs.

Virgil:really?!

Roman:yeah i can prove it if you want

Virgil:please do

Roman:[picture]

Roman:you wont be able to find that anywhere else

Virgil stared at the picture. Roman was right, he didn't even need to try to find it anywhere else. He may or may not have spent hours looking at pictures of this man. But only because he loved the Teddy character so much and Roman was physically attractive.

Virgil:oH

Roman:surprise?

Virgil:surprise is an understatement

Virgil's finger's hovered over the keys. He could tell Roman. After all Roman had just told him. Not telling Roman could be lying? Right? It was just a few words, just 3 words and 3 letters. It. Wasn't. This. Hard.

He panicked and sent a picture.

Virgil:[picture]

Roman:uh, that's virgil

Roman:really random dude

Virgil:yeah uh thats me

Virgil:was trying to find a way to tell you and panicked

Roman:oH prt2

Virgil:hah hah hah very funny

Roman:I know

Roman:I'm amazing at comedy

Virgil:Well random question

Roman:What's up buttercup?

Virgil:1, never call me that again, 2, up to join me on my chanel for a video

Roman:Are you kidding me?

Roman:Of course i would!

Virgil:you live near [virgil's street] right?

Roman:sure do

Virgil:meet me at [some park near Virgil's address]?

Roman:time?

Virgil:1:00?

Roman:You're on

Virgil leaned his head back, grinning. He could barely believe this was happening. So like every crazy thing that happened to him, he made a post about it. After all, his followers would find this very amusing.

Virgil read over the Tweet one last time and put his phone down. He needed to drag himself out of bed and get going. He didn't have that much time to get ready, and there was a lot of getting ready to do.

Hours later Virgil had drunk coffee, changed into clothes better suited for going outside, taken his antidepressants and after Logan had yelled at him over text, eaten breakfast. Just before leaving the house he put in a contact to hide the fact one of his eyes was blue, while the other was brown. Better to hide that than have to explain why his eyes were mismatched.

Roman could barely believe this was happening. He was walking to a park to meet one of his favorite people. Not only that, but they were on friendly terms! And he was going to work with them! What the hell was his life.

He walked into the park, looking around. There were a few kids running around, adults sitting on benches and a few helping the younger kids. But no sign of Virgil. Or V. Roman had no clue what to call him.

The more Roman stood around the more nervous he got. He had found Virgil's content in what Virgil referred to as the 'dark days'. He had watched Virgil struggle through depression and other heavy topics. But what if that was faked? What if Virgil was nothing like he was in the videos?

Due to his worrying Roman didn't notice someone approaching him, was snapped out of his thoughts with a sudden, "Hey."

Roman looked at the person, and was startled to find Virgil. The worries melted away imidentaily. Virgil clearly was exactly like he was in his videos.

"Hi," Roman responded, grinning at Virgil. "Nice to finally meet who I've been talking to."

Virgil laughed a bit and rolled his eyes. "I was going to say we could've met earlier, but that would be a total lie."

Roman nodded, trying to think of what to say next. It was so much easier talking over text.

Virgil was panicking. Not normal panicking thank goodness, but gay panicking. Roman was hot, and Virgil was gay. Gay and really fucking anxious. For some reason it was so much easier to talk to Roman when they weren't face to face. Why? Because Roman, was really fucking hot.

Roman looked around, seemed just as unsure as Virgil. Of course, Roman didn't have to deal with a really fucking h o t dude talking to him. The fact Roman was also like an entire half foot taller than Virgil didn't help. Or the fact Roman had decided to wear a tight shirt. Or the fact that roman kept messing his his hair and holly fuck. Did Virgil mention Roman was hot? And did Virgil mention he was gay?

"Sooooo," Roman said, drawing out the world. "What are we going to do for this video?" He said 'video' with a mock french accent that was as funny as it was hot. Answer to both, very.

Virgil shifted nervously. "Well, uh, I had a few ideas back at my place." Was he about to bring a total stranger back to his house? Was this what was happening now? Alright than. If Roman was insane he was screwed.

Roman nodded. "sounds great! Lead the way buttercup." He winked. Virgil shoved him playfully, mostly trying to hide the fact he had turned slightly red.

"That nickname is going to be the death of me." He muttered, and started to walk in the direction of his house, motioning for Roman to follow.

The walk eased some of Virgil's stress and gay panic. Roman was a pretty layed back dude. Virgil didn't usually work with other people, and when he did it never went well. But working with Roman was definitely going to be easy, and a lot of fun. Maybe responding to that text wasn't the worst idea ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to come out yesterday but it got messed up! I'm probably gonna start posting 2 chapters a day anyway so ye!
> 
> Word count:1229


	4. Video? More like complete mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Minor sexual references

The two started talking about what they wanted to do to recording. Though, the two kept getting distracted by random honestly bullshit things. And before either even realized it had been an entire hour and they had yet to think of a single idea.

Virgil looked ta the clock, and sighed. "It's been an entire hour, we need to think of something." He pulled out his phone. "Google shall be our savior."

Roman's eyes lit up. "I got an idea!" Virgil raised an eyebrow at him, prompting him to continue. "We could look at each other google's search history."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea," He smiled a tad. "Do we want to record today or tomorrow?"

"I mean, we still have time today." Roman stood up, grinning at the still sitting Virgil. Virgil nodded, standing up with a over-dramatic sigh. "I'll get my camera."

A few minutes later they were seated in Virgil's living room with his somewhat cheep filming set up facing them.

"Alright, three, two, one," Virgil switched the camera on, flopping back onto the couch. Roman was hiding his face behind a pillow. 

"Hello freaks, peeps and all others, you may notice that there's an er, guest here," Virgil almost broke off laughing. Roman made a face at him behind the pillow. "Want to give them a hint?" Virgil was half talking half just laughing.

Roman made a mix between a screech and a whale sound, making Virgil complete break down in laughter. Roman removed the pillow, sticking his tongue out at Virgil.

"It's me," Roman said, turning back to the camera. "Surprise!"

Virgil shook off his laughter, nodding with a smile. This, was going to be interesting.

They filmed for about a half hour, and each minute was filled with absolute madness. Virgil was almost sad that they couldn't just do this all day. They wrapped up filming and after twenty minutes Roman had to leave.

Overall, Virgil had to admit that it was probably the most fun he'd ever had.

Virgil started the editing process that day, and stayed up editing for basically the rests of the night. At around 1:00am he decided to stop and head to bed.

The next day Virgil finished up editing, deciding to wait a bit longer before putting the video out. due to complete boredom he pulled out his phone to find a text from Roman.

Roman:Boop

Virgil:What

Roman:Boop.

Virgil:Alright then

Roman:Just wanted to talk to you and had no clue how to start

Virgil:mood

Virgil:I finished editing the video

Roman:That was fast

Roman:Did you even sleep last night?

Virgil:I did sleep

Virgil:For two hours, but it was done

Roman:Viiiirrrrrgggggiiiilllllll

Virgil:At LeAsT i SlePt

Roman:Vvvvvvviiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrggggggggiiiiiiiiilllllll

Virgil:I regret telling you my name

Roman:No you dont :)

Virgil:yourerightidont

Roman:I'm so screentshotting that

Virgil:Hey!

Roman:You can't stop me >:3

Virgil:I feel so attacked

Roman:-screenshot of the conversation-

Virgil: :(

Roman:canitweetitout

Virgil:

Virgil:fine

Roman: :D

Virgil: :0

Fuck he was gay.

Virgil was way too gay for his own good.

How dare Roman be so HOT and so CUTE and so FUCKING WONDERFUL. That should be illegal. Very, very illegal. What. The. Hell.

Virgil buried his face in the couch pillow, completely at a lose of what to do. So, like always, he turned to the internet. Because the internet was his entire life. Geeze that sounded depressing.

(Image of Virgil tweeting: "google, what to do if boys are too hot?"

Virgil then saw that Roman, had indeed, tweeted out their conversation. And had tagged him in it. Normally Virgil would be fine with that, but Roman had a certain following, and tagging him meant that it was possible that following would look at Virgil's socials. And Virgil's content, was not made for Roman's following.

He sighed and grabbed his computer, knowing that posting a video and scrolling through the first comments was always a pretty good distraction. Only a few seconds after the video was uploaded, people started to hop on. The comments had already become a mess of madness, most of them freaking out because Roman fucking Juniper was on Virgil's channel.

And while scrolling through the comments, Virgil found one from Roman's account. Quickly he pinned it, and hearted it. Common internet curtsy.

Roman:Fantastic video, really liked the people in it

Virgil:Dude you were in the video

Roman:Part of what makes it so great

Virgil:You sir have so much ego

Roman:I am well aware :)

Virgil:Can I have some? Like please?

Roman:Afraid not lol

Virgil:You greedy son of a bitch

Roman:Watch your motherfucking language

Virgil:mAkE mE

Roman:....

Roman:Okay bottom

Virgil: :0

Virgil:911 I have been attacked

Roman:Hah HAH

Virgil: :(

Virgil felt like throwing his phone across the room and screaming into a pillow. Straight guys were always a pain in the ass. Wait fuck that did not sound great. Abort mission! It was time to jump off the boat into the sea of shame and complete regret. Aka Virgil's permanent home.

Moral of the story:Guys are hot, Virgil's gay, and Roman is such a fucking flirt but straight as hell.

Also, Virgil is a thick, oblivious FOOL.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count:900+image description 
> 
> I mentioned this on the Wattpad version of this, but I'm considering making a separate book for side stories/talking about the process of writing this? there's a lot of things I wanted to do but the story blowing up on Wattpad made me cut out because of anxiety. Any opinions?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Mentions of bad mental health, minor sexual references, shipping of real people, start of a break down, reference to bad fathers,

Roman knew the internet. He knew it pretty damn well. But waking up to being tagged in tons of fancontent of him and Virgil was defiantly a surprise. Like the video came out YESTERDAY, and there was already fanart and fanfics of them? Did the fans not sleep?

It started off as the usual wholesome stuff, sure there was a bit of shipping, but nothing Roman was that worried about. It seemed pretty tame.

But once again, Roman had underestimated the internet.

He had just been looking through wholesome fanart, when out of nowhere, BLAM, smut. Roman quickly closed the tab, in minor shock. It had been one day. ONE DAY. What the hell was the internet? Virgil deserved a warning, Roman had to save his friend from traveling into the debts of the internet.

Roman:Warning, there's smut already

Virgil:What?

Roman:There's smut of us online

Virgil:Roman it's 9:00 in the morning why are you looking at smut?

Roman:I wasn't looking!

Roman:I was just scrolling through fanart and it showed up

Virgil:you are clearly new to the internet

Roman:its only been a day

Virgil:im going back to sleep

Roman:its like 9:00

Roman:and monday

Roman:how are you able to go back to sleep?

Virgil:i dont have a job

Virgil:Normal job loser

Roman: :(

Roman rolled his eyes, smiling. Virgil seemed very used to the shipping, but Roman was not. To his knowledge, he had never been shipped, only the characters he played. Then again, Rule 34 was a thing.(IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS DON'T GOOGLE IT. STAY INNOCENT. PLEASE)

With an overdramatic sigh Roman got to his feet. He was starting to work on a new film, and he was supposed to talk with the screenwriter today. If there was one thing Roman hated, it was talking with screenwriter. 

Roman got dressed pretty quickly. That was always pretty easy since he dressed like the average straight dude. "Hide the gay" as he said. And with a quick cop of iced coffee he was on his way to hell. Er, the film set.

Virgil may have woken up at 12:00. In his defense, he had a long day. And, he didn't really have to work that much today. The day after a video release was supposed to be a break day. It was something his therapist recommended to stop or at least slow spiral days. 

Spiral days sucked.

After about a half hour debating if he should get out of bed or not, Virgil heaved himself out of bed and into the kitchen, still half asleep. He knew from Roman's Twitter he would be busy that day, and so would Logan. So basically he had nothing to do that day. Great.

Virgil's sad excuse of a coping mechanism of asking the internet for help kicked in, and he asked his followers what the hell he should do. While waiting for responses he made the mistake of looking at fanart from the latest video. Surely it couldn't be as bad Roman had said, right? Virgil's fans were usually pretty tame about everything like that, surely Roman was just overeacting-

Nope. It was bad. Damn. The shippers were fast. And a weird group or people.

So, maybe the internet was the greatest mistake in the entire world, but some people had good ideas. After scrolling through the comments on his post, ignoring all the, 'Fuck Roman' ones, he found some pretty good suggestions. Someone who lived in his area suggested some bakery, it was worth a shot.

The bakery turned out to be pretty close to Virgil's place. As soon as you turned onto the street the bakery was on, you got attacked with good smells. Really good smells. The bakery was a small building on the corner of the street, it was built to look like a cupcake and looked like someone yanked it straight out of a fairy tale.

Virgil walked into the strange looking building, to be greeted by a very cheery man behind the counter. "Hello there! I've never seen you before!"

The man was the classic dad type, or, the type of dad everyone else thought of. Virgil's view of dads was very different from everyone else's. Virgil half waved in greeting. "Yeah, I got the place recommended to me."

The man walked over, looking Virgil up and down. "Hey I know you!" He said happily, grin somehow growing. "My friend Roman texted you! Virgil right?"

Virgil smiled awkwardly and nodded. "Yep, that's me." The shop was mostly empty, though the few people that were there shot the two weird looks.

"Well hi! I'm Patton!" The man, or Patton, offered a hand. Virgil shook it. "Virgil, but uh, you already knew that."

Patton laughed and nodded. "What can I get you?" He walked back to the counter, Virgil followed, having no clue what else to do.

"I have no clue..." Virgil looked at the menu above the counter, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to order. Why didn't he decided before he was asked? Fuck.

"That's alright!" Patton responded cheerfully. "May I recommended our signature cupcakes? It's the base of the entire shop."

Virgil nodded and smiled a tad. "Sure, that sounds good."

Patton turned to face back, where Virgil assumed the kitchen was. "Hey Janus, one cupcake please!" Wait, Janus?

No. Fuck No. This was bad. This was really bad. Virgil hoped it wasn't the Janus he knew, but as soon as the reply came, something Virgil didn't quite hear through his panic, he knew his hope was false. Fuck. Janus worked here, and Virgil was on the verge of having a break down.

Roman finished up his meeting, feeling super drained. The screenwriter had been stiff and not at all flexible. Logan he had said his name was. Roman had tried to be friendly, but the weirdo just wasn't having it. Patton would understand this mess. Hopefully his good old dad friend would be able to help him feel better.

After a quick drive to a parking lot, and a pretty short walk, Roman reached his friend's bakery. However, when he walked through the door he was greeted by a surprise. A very nervous looking surprise at that.


	6. fuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Panic/depression, a shit to of cusisng, implied unsympathetic Janus, Roman gay panics

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. SHIT. Not only was fucking Janus in the other room, now Roman was here. Fucking Roman. The dude Virgil is really gay for. So Virgil's crush AND his old friend were in one place. He. Was. So. Screwed.

"Oh hey Virgil!" Roman said, putting his hand on Virgil's shoulder. FaNtAsTiC. Just great.

Virgil flinched away from the contact, though he tried to stop himself. It was like his brain just didn't connect with the rest of his body. Roman frowned, seeming worried. "Virge? Are you okay?"

Virgil shook his head, struggling to breath normally. He tried to talk, but no words came out, just a small pathetic whimper. Fuck. Shit. What the hell. Roman was talking again, but Virgil couldn't make out what he was saying. It was as if someone had switched off the audio switch in his head. Fuuuuuuuck.

A hand rested on his shoulder again, but this time Virgil couldn't fight back. He felt like he could fall over at anytime, so having that hand was sort of helpful. That hand guided him out of the building, putting distance between Virgil and Janus.

1\. 2. 3. Virgil took deep breaths, starting to count in his head. 4. 5. 6. He let his eyes close, shutting out everything around him. 8. 9. 10. Slowly he was able to hear again. 10. 9. 8. Virgil started to count backwards. 6. 5. 4. His shaking stopped, and he was able to stand normally again. 3. 2. 1. Virgil's heartrate slowed, and he let his eyes open.

Roman was standing in front of him, seeming really worried. "Virge?" He asked, careful to not stand to close to the shorter person.

"I'm fine... now." Virgil said, looking around. His thoughts were catching up, which limited his processing time.

Roman nodded. "What even happened back there?" He looked past Virgil at the bakery. "Patton said you just broke down..."

"It's a long story..." Virgil smiled a bit, pushing back the memories that tired to fight their way up. "A really, really long story."

"Then I guess we should save it for later," Roman nodded, handing Virgil a small package. "Patton wanted you to have this, no need to pay."

Virgil opened it to find a cupcake that looked a lot lie the bakery. He smiled a bit. "I would go in and thank him, but I have no clue if I could."

Roman smiled. "I can for you." He crossed his arms, leaning to on side. "Want to hang out later?"

Virgil shrugged. "Sure, right now though, I need to go calm down."

The two said their goodbyes and parted ways, Roman going back into his friend's bakery and Virgil going home. Patton looked up from the counter as Roman walked in. "Is he okay?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah, he's heading home to calm down," He leaned against the counter. "He says thanks for the cupcake."

Patton smiled a bit. "It was the least I could do. I wish I knew what caused it..." He sighed, looking around his shop.

"I'm going to hang out with him later on, so I could try to figure it out." Roman said, nodding. 

Patton smiled at him. "Alright, just, be careful?" Roman smiled and made a dramatic gesture.

"I'm always careful Pat."

shit.

Virgil was cute. Really fucking cute. And really fucking hot. Like, never before had a dude ever been that cute. Shit.

You may be wondering how this came to be. Well kids, Roman had just been scrolling through Instagram(avoiding the shipping community of course), when Virgil posted. Virgil posting on Instagram was a very rare thing, so it surprised Roman.

As soon as our dear actor opened it he was shot. Shot by fUcKiNg perfectness. Virgil had posted a selfie of himself, curled up on his couch, with a few snacks in nothing but weird Nicolas Cage pajama pants.

Yes, the pants were weird.

And yes, Virgil was hot and cute.

What. The. Hell.

So, Roman had been staring at that picture for about five minutes when he finally snapped out of it. The caption just read, 'After panic flop time, probably not going to move for the rest of the day.'

But, it might have read, 'Hah, just thought I'd make Roman gay panic because I'm a big meanie'

Because that's what that damn picture did.

Roman was gay. Only problem was, no one knew Roman was gay. Well, Patton knew, but Patton knew everything. Maybe the shippers were right, Roman was heads over heels for Virgil, but there was no way Virgil would like him back.

At the end of the Dark Days, Virgil had declared he wouldn't want a romantic relationship for a long time. His reasoning was that he just wasn't stable enough for something like that. It was the main reason shipping was pretty small in Virgil's fanbase. It had only been a year since that video had been released.

Virgil just wasn't interested in a relationship. And that was fine. But Roman was really gay, and really hoped somehow, in some strange universe, Virgil felt the same. And in that strange universe, they would get together and have something more than they did.

But of course, that was just Roman getting ahead of himself and ignoring reality. Better to stay ground and keep his head out of the clouds. He didn't want to get hurt in a way that was really hard to recover from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count:895
> 
> The next chapter has a (kinda big) time skip, just warning you!


	7. time did a zoom, virgil did an oops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:achol usage, kinda angsty, it's short, self doubt/hatred,

Roman always hated the phrase "Time flies." Like how the fuck was tie supposed to fly. Did clocks just sprout wings and fly away? That would be funny. Funny was a funny word. Hah, that was a funny thought. Haha he kept thinking funny. There it was again! He should try to catch the word! Then he wouldn't think it anymore. That would show funny.

In case you didn't notice. Roman was drunk. Pretty damn drunk at that.

Let's backtrack a bit, since Roman won't be much help, Virgil will be our view lenses.

Virgil and Roman had talking for months now. They had grown quite close and spent tons of time together. Roman and appeared on Virgil's channel tons, and Roman's first video on his own channel had Virgil in it. Needless to say, the two had gotten pretty close.

And both had caught feelings, hard.

The two had just finished filming a video, Trans Vs. Cis. Roman had proposed they go out and celebrate, and after Virgil agreed the actor had bought a pretty decent amount of alcohol of varying kinds and brought them back to Virgil's place.

Virgil, who was a light drinker, was pretty much sober. While Roman was far from it. The thing about Virgil was, even when he had a small amount of alcohol, it boosted his confidence. And any confidence boost was a huge deal.

And a huge mistake.

Roman was currently flopped backwards in the chair he was sitting in, while Virgil was perched on the table. Although Roman was drunk pretty much senseless, he still was incredibly hot. Maybe more so, just in a different way.

"Hey Roman?" Virgil took a deep breath. He had to do this, it's not like Roman would even remember it after.

"Yeah Virgey?" Roman propped himself up, staring at his friend with a sappy grin. Why was the oaf so goddamn cute?

Virgil shifted. "I have something to tell you..." He looked around, as though someone could be recording this. That was a possibility. It wasn't like Roman and Virgil were the most unstalkable(totally a word) people.

"What is it?" Roman's words slurred together a bit, and he moved closer to Virgil. Close enough Virgil could smell the beer on his breath.

Damn Virgil hated that smell, so much.

"Well," Virgil spoke as he shifted backwards, needing to escape the smell. "I'm..." He paused, then blurted out, "I'm in love with you."

Roman grinned, laughing. "Awwww, I wove you too Viwgey!" He reached up to hug Virgil, but fumbled at fell forwards, almost banging his head on the table. Luckily Virgil stop his head from hitting it. Anxiety man, it gave you killer reflexes.

Virgil sighed, getting off the table. Roman was drunk. There was no way someone as amazing and well, stable as Roman could love someone as bad and unstable as Virgil. The world just didn't work that way. And again, Roman was drunk, drunk people were dumb.

At least Roman wouldn't remember this.

"Let's get you to bed... You're staying here tonight." Virgil helped his friend(and crush), to his feet, leading him to the kinda small guest room. Once Roman was settled, Virgil headed to his room. It wasn't like he was going to get much sleep, it was just a place to escape reality.

The next morning Roman awoke with a splitting headache, and in really bad need of water. He normally avoided drinking, but yesterday had been an exception. Though there was a weird thing with Roman. An important thing.

Remember how Virgil kept thinking Roman wouldn't remember anything from last night? Yeah well, Roman remembered. And shit was about to go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count:635
> 
> hah hah plot convince go brrrrrr


	8. Confessions and Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Fluff

Roman had been just sitting on his bed, for about ten minutes. There was a lot to process here. Roman was beyond exited, but was also really terrified. Virgil could have been joking, or not really thinking straight(heh), or it had been Roman's imagination, or drunk. Well, not the last one. From what Roman remembered Virgil hadn't drank at all. Then again, he could've remembered wrong.

Finally, after what felt like forever but was literally just 10 minutes, Roman forced himself to his feet. There was sound coming from down the hall, probably coming from the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, the closeted actor headed towards the sound.

By the time Roman got to the kitchen Virgil was sat on the counter, gremlin style, holding a cup of what Roman guessed was coffee. "Morning." Roman said, trying to read virgil's face.

Virgil nodded in his direction, but seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Roman leaned against the counter next to Virgil, trying to figure out what to say. "So, did I do anything dumb or bad last night?" He asked.

"Not really no," Virgil answered and shook his head. "Just a lot of weird conversations." Roman slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so," Roman shifted so he could face Virgil. "Cause I remember mostly everything when I'm drunk."

Virgil's face went from pretty neutral to pure panic in the coarse of a few seconds. "Like everything? Or just like bits and pieces?" He said quickly, grip tightening on his cup.

Roman shrugged. "It depends on how drunk I get. But I remember pretty much everything from last night." He was careful to keep anything that would indicate he was upset tucked away. Why did he always have to be so goddamn extra?

Welp, Virgil was doomed. Really, really, doomed. Roman knew. Roman, the straight, hot, famous dude, knew Virgil was in love with him. Virgil. Was. So. Screwed. Time to dig his grave and vanish from the internet forever.

Roman was just staring at him. Was he waiting for Virgil to say something? What was he even supposed to say? Like, 'Yeah, I'm so in love with you when you're around I can't think normally. But like hah, hah don't hate me.'

"So, did you mean it?" Roman asked, eyes narrowing a bit. Oh god. Virgil so badly waned to say no. To laughed and say he had just been joking around. But he couldn't lie to Roman. He would feel even worse if he did.

"Yeah..." Virgil said, looking down. He was surprised his mug hadn't shattered since he was holding it so tightly. "We can still be friends right?"

Roman smiled. "Goddammit Virge," He mumbled and moved closer, and seemed to be debating something. Virgil knew the spiral face. Roman was having a spiral thought.

Four. Words. It was literally just four words. How hard could it be?! Jesus Christ Superstar. He had to do it. His chance was right there, he just had to grab it. Four. Words.

"I uh..." Roman found his voice, looking at Virgil closely. "I love you too!" He blurted out, heart rate shooting through the roof.

Virgil looked at him. "w-What? But you're straight!" He slid off the counter, in clear shock.

Roman laughed anxiously. "I'm far from straight... But really closest." He half smiled at Virgil, rubbing the back of his neck.

Virgil slowly smiled back. "You're serious? Like completely?" Roman nodded, then smirked as he got an idea.

Roman got down on one knee, stealing Virgil's mug. "Virgil, would you be my boyfriend?" He held out the mug, grinning.

Virgil laughed and snatched his mug back. "Sure thing, you extra bitch." He rolled his eyes, though he was blushing. Roman got to his feet, hugging Virgil tightly.

"Now you can never escape meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Roman smirk-grinned down at the much shorter male. Virgil smiled back, kissing Roman's cheek.

"I think I'm alright with that." Virgil hummed, entangling their hands. This earned him a very red and flustered Roman. The attempted joke had ended very badly, yet amazingly.

For the next hour the two just cuddled and chatted. It was weird because nothing really nothing changed. They just got a new way of showing affection, kissing. Roman was very affectionate, and was willing to shower anyone with affection in any way. Virgil was pretty damn touch starved, and trusted Roman enough to accept the literal constant river of affection.

They decided it was best for them to keep their relationship out of the public eye for now. Roman didn't want to be outed just yet, and Virgil wasn't ready for everyone to see them together. So it worked out pretty great.

The two put on a movie, but really weren't paying attention to it. They were busy doing other things.

cuddling. duh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WC:780
> 
> enjoy the fluff while it lasts


	9. crash and burn(!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get super intense for the next few chapters, an dI know not everyone can handle that kind of thing, so any chapter with intense angst will have "(!)" after it. I'll link hotlines in the bottom notes, and if you need them, please us ethem. It dose get better, I promise you. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true.
> 
> TW:TW:Angst, Roman insults Virgil, mentions depression and past self harm, breaking of fourth wall, nonaccepting parents, drinking addiction, kinda unsympathetic Janus, attempt to take ones life.

"Me and Virgil? Dating?" Roman said with a laugh. "No way. He's so far away from my type. I'd never date someone like him." He shook his head

The interviewer blinked in surprise. "Really? Why not?"

Roman shrugged. "He's just so anxious. And depressed. It'd be impossible to ever love him."

Virgil stared at the TV screen, in total shock. Did Roman mean what he was saying? It didn't seem like an act... This was why Virgil didn't get attached. You couldn't trust anyone, because no matter what, they'd leave you. It always went that way. But Virgil never learned.

Earlier

Roman and Virgil had been dating for months now. Roman had moved into Virgil's apartment, and had become basically a constant on his channel. The shippers were losing their shit and fancontent was an endless stream. But so far, they had managed to keep their relationship under the radar.

One night though, they decided it was time. Virgil and Roman both were done with hiding and decided to announce it the next day. Roman had an interview and would bring it up then, and Virgil would tweet about it after the interview was over.

So at 12:00 Roman headed out to the interview. It started at 1:00 and was supposed to end around 1:30. It was going to be aired live as promotion for some film Roman was in. Virgil was pretty sure Logan was working on it too. Virgil didn't really care since it wasn't his type of movie.

For the next hour Virgil goofed around the house, mostly looking through fancontent. Just before the interview went live, he liked a fanart of him and Roman kissing. Didn't do anything else, just to sprinkle in a bit of excitement. It was always really fun to see his fanbase freak out over the small hints he dropped.

And only a minute later, the interview aired. And thus began the angst train.

The first few questions were pretty average. A lot about the characters and filming process. Then, THE question came up.

"So, Roman," The interviewer started. "You and Virgil Storm, or Anxious247, seem very close." She looked at Roman.

Roman nodded. "Yeah, he's really great. I'd say he's my very best friend."

The interviewer adjusted her round glasses, smiling. "Is he anything more than that? What I'm asking here is, are you dating?"

There was a stiff moment of silence. And even though Virgil knew the answer, he was nervous. Suddenly, Roman started to laugh. Weird start but okay...

"Me and Virgil? Dating?" Roman said through laughter. "No way. He's so far away from my type. I'd never date someone like him." He shook his head

The interviewer blinked in surprise. "Really? Why not?"

Roman shrugged. "He's just so anxious. And depressed. It'd be impossible to ever love him."

Virgil stared at the TV screen, in total shock. Did Roman mean what he was saying? It didn't seem like an act... This was why Virgil didn't get attached. You couldn't trust anyone, because no matter what, they'd leave you. It always went that way. But Virgil never learned.

Virgil had trusted Roman, he had even loved him. But sitting there, the horrible numbness returned. The numbness that had ruled Virgil's mind in the Dark Days. The numbness that had eaten him alive after IT.

You've heard about the dark days, it's time you knew exactly what happened.

They had started to take over after Virgil's parents kicked him out. Back when his name was still Kathrine. He had told his parents he had wanted to be a boy, and they had gotten angry. Mostly Virgil's father. After that, Virgil went to live with a friend, Janus.

Virgil lived with Janus for two years. And it was great. As long as Virgil had his friends he'd be fine. After the two years he managed to build his channel enough he could support himself. Then, it all crashed and burned.

Remus was framed for murder, and the stress of it all was wearing on Janus. After Remus was proven innocent, Janus had gained a drinking problem. It was a huge contributor to why Virgil didn't drink. That's when they Dark Days truly took over Virgil's channel. Instead of the occasional dark video, almost every video was dark. And as Janus's drinking got worse, the videos got darker.

Then, both of them snapped. They were filming a video and got into a huge fight, that ended with Janus lashing out physically and purposely misgendering Virgil. That, was the last time Virgil saw Janus. Until the bakery incident.

That video was never published, but it was still in Virgil's hard drive. Sitting and waiting to be released.

That broke Virgil. He completely gave up, turning to some not so great ideas. He just needed to feel SOMETHING.

The Dark Days lasted for five months.

Five months Virgil spent taring himself down and just barely holding on. In the end, Virgil attempted to take his own life. After that, Logan made him start therapy and take a break from his channel. For a entire month Virgil was a complete ghost on the internet.

Finally Virgil returned. Rebranding himself as just Virgil instead of Anxious247. He posted a video titled, Escaping the Past. In it he talked about his parents, depression and how he was going to get better, he just needed time. He never told anyone expect Logan and Roman about Janus though. That was his secret and it would stay with him until the day he died.

And now, the Dark days were coming back to haunt him. And it hurt. Really, really badly.

Roman was driving back from the interview, shaking. He wanted so badly to take back what he had said. He just, panicked. For some reason he couldn't just admit he loved Virgil. Admit that he was gay. He could've just said one word, and it would be fine. He was so goddamn stupid, so goddamn-

CRASH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (imsosorry)
> 
> Hotlines:https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
> 
> http://www.suicide.org/suicide-hotlines.html
> 
> https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8pH3BRAXEiwA1pvMsTR49NKJ4MP7VhXrs-3dpzOh7QcMX23RJ53KEk-edV4PJsp7oejfkBoCAccQAvD_BwE
> 
> https://www.thehotline.org/


	10. hospital(1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Mention of car crashes, angst, praying and atheism,

Virgil had been curled up on his bed when he got the call. At first, he had thought it was a dumb prank call, but quickly realized it wasn't. Roman was in the hospital.

Within ten minutes Virgil was there, pacing around the ER waiting room. Patton and Logan showed up together, both seeming as worried as Virgil.

"Virgil.... Are you alright?" Logan looked at his friend, worry shining in his eyes. "I saw the interview with Roman, I doubt he meant those thinks."

Virgil shook his head, the numbness still haunting the back of his head. "It doesn't matter Logan...." He sighed, looking towards the area Roman would be in.

Patton hugged Virgil, tearing up a bit. "Yes it does! And I know Roman didn't mean that, he just panicked."

Virgil pushed Patton away, careful not to hurt him. "It. Doesn't. Matter." He avoided looking at the two, sitting against the wall. He could feel them staring at him, but he just shook it off.

A half an hour and a few minutes later, a doctor approached them. "Are you Roman Juniper's family?"

Patton looked at the other sand half nodded. "Biologically? No, but we are his family."

The doctor nodded, taking a deep breath. Virgil stared at the doctor, and for the first time since he had been kicked out of his family's house, he started to pray. Virgil wasn't really religious, the idea of some all powerful thing being able to control everything scared him. But now, that thing was pretty needed.

"He's alive," The doctor started, and all three let out a collective sigh, "And in a mostly stable condition. He's unconscious now, we don't know when he'll wake up, but he will."

"Can we visit him?" Patton stood from where he had been sitting, and the other two followed suite.

The doctor nodded. "Of course. Go to the front desk and they'll tell you the room number. Only one at a time though."

Logan nodded at him. "Thank you." And with that the three hurried to the desk, and then to Roman's room. Once there they looked at each other.

"Virgil, you should go in first..." Patton said, Virgil quickly shook his head. Patton blinked, then slowly nodded. "I guess I will then."

Patton walked into the room, leaving Logan and Virgil alone in the empty hallway. The two didn't really talk, just sat there silently. Roman had grown up in an orphanage, so they were probably going to be the only visitors that showed up. They were Roman's only family.

After a few minutes, Patton walked out. Logan looked at Virgil, and tilted his head. Virgil shook his head in response. "I'm not ready to see him..."

Logan nodded, gave Virgil a stiff and quick shoulder pat before entering the room. Patton sat next to Virgil, eyes red and puffy.

"You should inform the internet..." Patton mumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest. Virgil nodded and slowly pulled out his phone, hands shaking as he opened the Twitter app.

(Image of a tweet from virgil/anxious24/7 saying: "Bad news, Roman is in the hospital. I would normally announce this in a more professional way, but i can't handle that now. will keep you updated.")

Virgil was crying by the end of typing that out. It was just all too much. It felt so long ago that Roman and him and kissed each other goodbye, yet it had only been a few hours. Patton gently put an arm around Virgil, not speaking, just, being there.

Logan emerged from the room, sitting on Virgil's other side. "You don't have to see him if you don't want to..." He murmured, worried.

Virgil shook his head and stood up, having to lean on the wall for support. "I have to... I'll feel worse if I don't." He slid through the door, staring at Roman.

The room was bare, and the light on the ceiling felt too bright. The other bed in the room was empty, something Virgil was grateful for. Then there was Roman, just sitting on the bed. If Virgil didn't know better he would've thought Roman was just asleep.

But he wasn't. And that hurt.

Virgil slowly sat beside Roman, his own hand hovering above his boyfriends. Was Roman even still that? Had Roman meant what he said? Was that his way of breaking up with Virgil? So many doubts crowded Virgil's head, and he started to wish he had agreed with Logan to not see Roman.

Then, something happened.

Roman's hand turned around, and entangled Virgil's fingers with it's own. Virgil looked a Roman's face, to find his eyes open a bit. "Roman?" Virgil asked, heart rate speeding up.

"Hey V..." Roma's voice sounded like it had been used too much and was about to just give up. A small smile crossed his face. "I didn't think you'd show up."

Virgil smiled a bit, tears filling his eyes. "I almost didn't. But I'm glad I did." He leaned down and pressed his forehead against Roman's, their breathing syncing perfectly.

"I'm sorry for what I said in the interview," Roman shifted, and winced in pain. "I didn't mean any of it, I just..."

"Panicked," Virgil finished his boyfriend's thought. "I get it, I really do." He sighed a bit, glancing at the door. Slowly he sat up again.

Roman tried to sit up but failed with a grunt. Virgil shook his head and said, "You shouldn't try to move. You broke a few bones, your rib being one of them. The crash was pretty bad."

"I know, I was in it." Roman said with a small laugh. Virgil rolled his eyes, playfully, and very carefully, swatting at Roman.

They two were silent for a bit, and then Roman spoke again. "I want to take back what I said, publicly. I want the entire world to know I'm madly in love with you."

Virgil looked at him, a slight blush stealing his face. "Now is not the time. You should wait until you're better."

Roman sighed and looked out the window by his bed. "I hate waiting..." He grumbled, arms crossing.

"I know, but sometimes you have to." Virgil shifted so he was facing the same direction as Roman.

The actor looked at his boyfriend, eyes shining with joy love, and tears. They were, very, very manly tears though. The manliest of the tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take your meds, stay hydrated and stay safe! <3


	11. oliver branch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Past toxic friendships, past alcohol addictions, sympathetic Janus(?)

Roman had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks. Virgil was with him basically every day. Benefits of not having a 'real' job. As promised he kept the media informed, but had not yet confirmed nor denied the dating rumors. That was Roman's job.

There was a lot of debate. A lot of people, mostly Virgil's fans, were sending hate towards Roman. Virgil was trying to do damage control, but it was hard when everyone had a point. So, Virgil decided to just vanish from the internet. Not only so he could escape the stream of hate and worry about him, he could also help Roman and his mental health.

Then, the unexpected happened.

Virgil was sitting in Roman's room while Roman slept. It was hard for him to do anything else really. Visiting hours was nearing it's end, and Virgil wasn't really expecting anyone else to show up. Then Patton walked into the room. Weird, but okay.

"Hey Virgil?" Patton said, gaining the tubers full attention. "There's someone who wants to see you... But I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay seeing them."

"Who is it?" Virgil raised an eyebrow, standing up.

Patton looked back at the door, than at Virgil. "Janus..." He watched Virgil carefully, trying to spot the panic signs Logan had talked about.

Virgil tensed, hands curling into a fist. "What dose he want." He mumbled, glaring at the door.

"He just wants to talk, I can stay in the room if you want." Patton took a timid step towards Virgil, worried about both him and Janus.

Virgil stared at the door as though he could see Janus behind it. He so badly wanted to tell Patton no. To not see Janus for the rest of his life. But he knew he couldn't do that. If he was letting go of the past, he needed to let go of Janus, officially. "No... If I'm going to talk to him, I want to do it alone." His voice shook.

Patton nodded, walking out of the room. A few seconds passed, and Janus entered. He looked exactly like he had all that time ago. Only less tired and worn out, happier almost.

The two just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Virgil just barely stopped him hand from drifting to his face, trying to forget the last time they were alone together. Roman's snores cut through the silence, reminding both they weren't completely alone here.

"It's been a while..." Janus finally spoke, avoiding eye contact. Virgil nodded, not sure he could trust his voice to work properly.

Janus sighed. "I'm so sorry Virge. I was a total asshole, and I should've listened when you told me to stop drinking." He said quickly, finally looking at Virgil.

Virgil stared at him, trying to read his face. He glanced back at Roman. "Right..." He said slowly, trying to figure out what to do. Janus took a step forward, startling Virgil into taking one and a half back, almost bumping into the bed.

"Can we start over?" Janus slowly offered a hand, trying to not startle Virgil again. The stiff silence returned, the only sound being Roman's snores and the air conditioner. Virgil stared at the hand, thoughts flying around.

When Patton had told Virgil about Janus, he had planned to just cut his old friend off officially. But now, Janus was offering a chance for friendship again. A new friendship without any of the past problems. Or, without involving any of the past problems. Virgil really did miss Janus, but he couldn't just forget the past. He couldn't just ignore it all.

It clicked. He couldn't escape the past.

"No," Virgil said, Janus looked away, hand slowly lowering. "We can't start over... But there is something we can do." Virgil walked over to his old friend, pressing the panic down. Slowly, he offered his own hand.

"I'm not going to forget what you did, but I can forgive. If you're willing, we can be friends again. It'll just take time." Virgil smiled a bit.

Janus stared at him, then without warning hugged him. "I know your not big on touch, sorry." Janus took a step back.

Virgil shrugged. "A lot of things about me have changed," He looked back at Roman. "Touch isn't so bad after all."

The two talked until visiting hours were over. Before parting ways they exchanged numbers and agreed to keep in touch. On his way back to the apartment, Virgil knew exactly what he had to do. He pulled out his phone(he's walking! don't phone and drive!) and broke his internet hiatus.

(image of tweet from virgil/anxious24/7 saying:"I'm back, and there's a new video planned. It's time I revisted the dark days


	12. accatptance(minor !)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:TW:A lot of the warnings in 'crash and burn', internalized homophobia, minor 4th wall braking, homophobia, it's short again TwT

Roman was finally coming home the next day. He had decided to record and video as soon as possible taking back what he said in the interview. Virgil, also had a video to record. And he wasn't ready.

Virgil started to work with his therapist, Janus, Roman, he even managed to get Remus involved. He wanted to get this right, he NEEDED to get this right. After a week of preparing, it was time. Virgil set up his camera in the living room, with Roman behind it for emotional support. Taking a deep breath he turned the camera on, and slowly sat down.

"Right, let's get this right this time." Virgil said, swallowing back his anxiety. After talking with Janus, he had made up his mind. He wasn't going to run from the past anymore. He wasn't going to keep, in his old selfs words, 'escaping the past.' This was it.

The video discussed everything that happened. He started at getting kicked out all the way till Escaping the Past was published. He managed to find the old video of him and Janus's big fight. He got Remus to talk about what he saw happening to Janus. Janus didn't want to show his face there though, for fear of safety. Which, like any good person would do, Virgil respected. He blurred Janus's face and took down any remaining videos with him in it.

Finally, the video was done being filmed, and it just had to be edited. Now, it was Roman's turn.

Roman's video was going to be a bit different. He wanted to not just come out, but to show the real him and why he felt he needed to hide it. He asked for Virgil's help filming it, since Roman was incapable when it came to cameras.

Unlike Virgil's video, Roman started with an actual greeting. He half waved, smiling. "Hello internet."(congrats if you understand that reference)

It started off pretty goofy, Roman talking about how he was gay and dating Virgil. But slowly, it took a turn for the darker side. Roman started to talk about his internalized homophobia, how being raised in an orphanage with only other boys who were all homophobic made it hard to accept that part of him. About how sometimes, the straight persona he put on was just too much to keep up.

Virgil so badly wanted to run over and hug Roman. He hated seeing the person he loved this upset. Thankfully, it slowly got lighter. Roman turned the conversation(?) to how he had been coping. Teddy was more like him than Roman Juniper was. Teddy had become Roman's venting character, and somehow no one had noticed. Thanks to playing Teddy Roman felt brave enough to start doing 'gay things'. Things like stating to drink iced coffee instead of normal. Learning how to speed walk everywhere. And how the more Roman acted the way he wanted to, the braver he got. And the braver the got, the more he was able to act how he wanted to.

After that train wreck, it got to the part the fans would be the most happy about. Roman and Virgil.

Here, you will probably want to see it.

"So, you're probably wondering one thing right now," Roman said, looking at Virgil was was behind the camera. "Are you and Virgil really dating?"

Roman almost panicked again. The entire weight of this video suddenly was crushing him. This, could end everything. Virgil slowly nodded and him, smiling a bit. Taking a deep breath Roman turned his attention back to the camera.

"Yes. We are. Me and Virgil are dating," Roman smiled, not expecting that to feel so amazing. "In fact, he's been behind the camera this entire time! Bet you didn't see that coming!" He made a funny face, mostly trying to get Virgil to laugh. He succeeded, giving him the confidence he needed to finish the video filming.

The next week was spent editing. Normally it wouldn't take that long, but Virgil had to help Roman because he was incapable with editing as well as cameras. Plus, they were both being careful to not overwork themselves. It was a lot of work, both videos were around 40 minutes long. Not exactly a small project.

And finally, after an entire week of work, it was time. They released their video at the exact same time, something the fans were sure to be going nuts about.

If the fans accepted both of them, great! If not, so what? They had each other, and their friends. And that would be enough.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Fluff, like lots of it, like you could get sick if it wasn't so poorly written.
> 
> For those who haven't seen the aside that came out today, don't worry! This was all written months ago so no spoilers here! But if you're reading this fic, I SO recommend you go watch it ;)

Things were amazing. Roman still couldn't believe that this was his life. If you had told 12 year old Roman that in the future he was a successful actor with accepting friends and an amazing boyfriend, he would've laughed at you. After all, how could a ragged orphan make it that far in life? Things had changed, a lot.

It had been a year since the videos had been released. Virgil and Roman had toughed through that year, staying with each other through the dark and good days. And every day Roman found himself falling for Virgil even more. So, he decided to finally make it clear. Of course, he wouldn't move too fast. Virgil was still working out all his mental issues, and to be honest, so was Roman.

But a little gesture wouldn't hurt, right?

So, Roman started to work with Logan and Patton. Soon after Janus and Remus got pulled into it as well. And thus began, project Promise Ring.

Roman knew he wanted a way to play it off as a joke, but he also wanted it to be romantic enough that it wasn't completely ridiculous. And Remus, had a very Remus idea. A smart Remus idea, but a Remus one.

Ring pops.

Roman could use a ring pop instead of a real ring. It was ridiculous, but it would work. Just in case though, Roman got a regular ring. Better safe than sorry.

Virgil had this obsession with the night, and stars. He just loved them, a lot. Probably for the aesthetic. Roman decided to take Virgil star-gazing in this field he had found. It was the perfect balance of casual and dramatic that the two basically lived in at this point.

After a few weeks of planning and being an anxious mess, it was time.

Roman held Virgil's hand as they walked, fumbling with the two ring boxes in his pocket. The pocket of a hoodie he stole from Virgil . Virgil looked at him, getting worried.

"Roman, are you okay?" Virgil said, trying to read his boyfriends face.

Roman blinked and nodded. "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Just a bit... distracted I guess."

Virgil sighed. "You need to take more breaks. Just because you're a more professional person than me doesn't mean you get to throw your mental health away."

Roman smiled at him. "Yes, but I'm also not as messed up as you are."

Virgil rolled his eyes, smiling a bit. "Touche." He squeezed Roman's hand, adjusting his grip on the flashlight.

"There it is." Roman pointed to an opening in the trees. It was deep enough in the woods the lights from the city wouldn't over the stars. Roman pretty much dragged Virgil into the opening.

Virgil stared up, grinning. His hand slipped out of Roman's, switching off the flashlight. It was a full moon, and the sky was filled with stars. The opening was really a pretty large field. The sky really did seem like a huge dome, covering the Earth.

Roman took a deep breath, grabbing the ring pop box. Now or never. "Virgil..." He started, gaining his boyfriends attention. "We've gone through a lot together, and every time I see you, talk to you, do anything with you, I fall more, and more in love. You've made me feel so much happier, and I truly am the luckiest man to have you by my side."

Slowly he opened the box and held it out to Virgil, smiling a bit. "I'm not exactly proposing, a bit too soon for that. But one day in the future, will you marry me?"

Virgil was staring at Roman, and very slowly he started to grin and tackle hugged Roman, laughing. The two feel to the ground, now both laughing.

"Really, a ring pop?" Virgil said, grinning down at Roman. "At least I got a real ring." Virgil reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a ring box.

"Oh my god," Roman laughed, sitting up. "And for your information, I did get a real ring." He got out the other box.

Virgil shook his head, grinning. "Well this belongs to you." He handed Roman his box.

Roman handed Virgil's the one he got. "And this you." Their hands brushed during the exchange, and despite the fact they'd been dating for literally a year, they both blushed. Some things never change I guess.

The two spent the rest of the night in that field, talking, cuddling, and just being there with each other. The first rays of the sun had started to show when they left, both tired and half asleep. Virgil drove, since he was one, used to being sleep deprived, two, not the one who got into a car accident before.

As soon as the two got home they crashed, falling asleep as soon as they flopped onto their bed. One year ago they had not known each other, one year ago they had both been struggling to hide parts of them that shouldn't be hidden. One year ago, Virgil got a text, a simple text really, just, "Hello there!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go!


	14. Five years later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Short, fluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuffffffffffff

Sayings tended to be really, really dumb. But one that wasn't, was time flies when you're having fun. It was incredibly true. Five years had felt like nothing, and before Virgil or Roman knew it, they were engaged. They had set their wedding date in June. It had been a few months since the engagement, and the wedding was already only one month away.

In a way, everyone got a happy ending. Remus and Janus got married. No grand wedding, just a legal wedding with only a few witnesses. After years of being thick flirts, Patton and Logan finally started to date, and were the most PDA couple you'd ever meet. Roman and Virgil adopted their child. No it's not a human, it's a cat. Human children are a hassle. It's name is Willow.

Both Virgil and Roan's audiences were growing, quickly. And a lot of people declared them the cutest internet couple. Roman loved the title, Virgil, not so much. But back to the audience growth.

Virgil's audience had become so large that one of his videos had reached his parents. Well, only his mom. Virgil's parents had divorced soon after Virgil had been kicked out. Virgil's mom had been searching for him since. Let's just say it was starling to receive an email from someone who you were completely sure hated you.

Things turned out alright though. While it was hard to trust his mother again, Virgil was trying. He even managed to drag her into being in a video, something he had never even dreamed of doing.

Things had changed tons since back then. And most of the changes were for the better. The wedding was basically completely planned, so Roman and Virgil had a lot of free time. Free time led them to have bad ideas. And a very certain bad idea led them to walking down to the tattoo shop they had discovered.

Time passed(I'm to lazy to figure out how much exactly) and the two walked out of the shop, hands slipping together. Roman loved to say that they were meant for each other since their hands fit into each other really nicely. Logan always tried to argue that's just how hands work but Roman wouldn't hear it.

Now, on their wrists were little text speech bubbles, one saying 'Hello there!' and the other 'Who tf are you'

No one else would really understand it. But they did. Those sets of words had become their thing, and a reminder of when they weren't as happy as they were now.

The two walked home, laughing, talking, Roman delivered a quick kiss ever so often. So yes, answering wrong number calls isn't the best idea, it's not advised at all. But answering Roman's text, was the greatest mistake of Virgil's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short. I hope you enjoyed this train wreck of a fic! It was a lot of fun to write and really helped me work on and improve my writing skills. Stay hydrated, don't be a boot-licker and have a great day/week/month/year/life! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Word count:1107+one line replacing an image in original


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